The Central government had already declared Ganga as the national river and constituted National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) to address issues related to the holy river. Ganga Mahasabha has come up with a draft, proposing enactment of National River Ganga (Conservation and Management) Act-2012.
After toiling for months, the bill drafting committee head by Justice(Retd) Giridhar Malviya prepared a 14-page draft.
"The Ganga Mahasabha is going to hold a meeting of religious leaders of different faiths to discuss the drafted bill at NDMC convention hall near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on November 21," said Acharya Jitendra, general secretary of Ganga Mahasabha. This organisation is committed for clean and unobstructed flow of Ganga.The letters and copies of the drafted bill are being sent to the religious leaders across the country, including Shankaracharya. After discussion, the draft will be submitted to the Central government to get it passed by the Parliament, he said.
"Though Ganga has been classified as the national river but it is yet to get the constitutional status. For this, there is a need of enactment of law by parliament," said Acharya, adding that taking an initiative in this regard, Ganga Mahasabha prepared the draft of the proposed Act with the help of noted persons from judiciary, environmentalists and scientists.
Justice (Retd) Malviya is the chairman of the bill drafting committee while other members are Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (noted environmentalist GD Agrawal), Justice (Retd) SS Kulshrestha, MC Mehta, lawyer, Supreme Court, Paritosh Tyagi, former chairman, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Arun Kumar Gupta, lawyer, High Court, Allahabad, Santosh Kumar, lawyer, Supreme Court and Govind Sharma, general secretary, Ganga Mahasabha.
The draft specifies that the very special features and unique status of the sacred Ganga in the culture and daily lives is recognised and river is at the very foundation and core of civilization. It is the best internationally known identity of Indian nation. Recognising the special place, the Union of India had designated Ganga as the national river and constituted National Ganga River Basin Authority for certain aspects of its management, under the Environmental Protection Act-1986. The instruments and arrangements made for this purpose have not proved adequate to render Ganga the special consideration as a national symbol, unique entity and cultural heritage, in the face of pressures from growing populations as also aspirations for economic, industrial, urban and other developments.
The chapter 1 of the draft covers title, coverage, basic regulations and definitions. The Act shall be titled as the National River Gangaji (Conservation and Management) Act of 2012 (NRGA in short). The chapter 2 outlines the national and state authorities for Ganga, including the constitution of National River Ganga Authority (NGRA), an apex body at national level and State Ganga Boards (SGBs) at state level.
The chapter 3 explains the field implementation of the exercises for restoration, conservation and protection of the holy river, keeping in mind that Ganga is not just a common property but a divine entity and nobody, not even governments can be allowed to exploit and misuse it or its contents.
The chapter 4 specifies the offenses in respect of breach/contravention of the objectives/provisions of this Act and the penalties/punishment for these, while Chapter 5 speaks about miscellaneous things like funds and power to make rules.
The enactment of the Act is essential as the existing arrangements for the protection and conservation of the holy river failed to serve the purpose, said Acharya, adding that despite spending crores of rupees, no improvement was noticed in the health of Ganga, rather its condition continued to deteriorate.
